Ginataan Na Hipon
With a deep culinary background and a hip young attitude, Filipino-Americans Chef Lordfer Lalicon, known as Chef Lo, and GM Jamilyn Salonga Bailey, have brought authentic flavors of their families’ homelands to a trend-setting new spot in Orlando. Their restaurant, Kaya, is casual yet the food is presented in fine-dining style, including multi-course family-style menus. One of the “waves,” aka courses, on the Kaya menu involves an entree called Ginataan Na Hipon. It is oversized Key West pink shrimp served with the head and shell intact. They sit atop a broth made with coconut milk and crab fat; zucchini and pattypan squash bits dot the plate. Guests are encouraged to mix the rich sauce with the garlic rice served alongside; that’s a tamaki gold short-grain rice mixed with garlic oil, sesame seeds and garlic chips.